Deathcough
by Galeheart
Summary: Sedgepaw has grown up his entire life accustomed to the hardships that Death Cough had brought to his clanmates. War breaks out between the four clans as the struggle for food, warriors, and water have made them desperate for any sort of supplies and shelter from the deadly virus. Meanwhile, Sedgepaw starts to meet up with an old friend that he hasn't seen since birth.


Hello ! My name's Zachary Morris, but you can call me Zach! This is my first Warrior's fanfiction, or fanfiction at all, so I hope it reads okay. I also hope you enjoy it, as I have been working hard to lay out the plot and story of this fanfiction for a very long time now as I start to write it all out! I will keep this updated as frequent as I can, but keep in mind I am sometimes busy with highschool and other life stuff.

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Sedgepaw has grown up his entire life accustomed to the hardships that Death Cough had brought to his clanmates. War breaks out between the four clans as the struggle for food, warriors, and water have made them desperate for any sort of supplies and shelter from the deadly virus. Meanwhile, Sedgepaw starts to meet up with an old friend, or family member, that he hasn't seen since birth. Will the clans ever recover from this horrible disease, or will their bloodlines eventually die out?

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Leaftail laid silently in his medicine den, listening as frogs chirped in the dense vegetation padding the habitat of Riverclan's camp. This was the third night in a row he had been plagued by the same exact nightmare from his ancestors, the elderly tom's amber, bloodshot eyes staring far off into the distance as his clouded mind wandered. The faint whistle of a cool breeze blew through the tops of the towering pines, but no plants rustled, nor did foliage blow around. It was Leafbare, a rather warm one at that, and the first few bright green buds were beginning to appear on the terrain that signaled the quick return of Newleaf. Thank Starclan, I am more than ready for a plentiful season of prey. The grey mackerel tabby let out a quiet grumble as he shifted in his bedding, joints popping and muscles aching as he finally made himself comfortable. I need an apprentice and fast; I can't keep up with this entire clan much longer. Riverclan needs a helping paw in the medicine department. Leaftail had been searching for a worthy pupil since he had first been awarded his warrior name, yet whenever he'd find a young feline that fit the bill, Starclan disagreed and demanded that he wait. With a heavy sigh, the old tom hung his head, averting his gaze to the moon before he heard quiet pawsteps approaching, and he whipped around to meet a small silhouette with gold eyes, the outline of their pelt silver in the dim lighting.

"Leaftail, I need you to come here right this instant. We have a situation at the east side of the border." A deep, chilling voice rang in the medicine cat's aging ears, and he immediately recognized the cat before him even with his faltering eyesight.

"Asterstar, what kind of situation do we have at moonhigh?" Leaftail replied gruffly, breaking into a yawn shortly after.

"Follow me." The lithe she-cat ignored the tabby's question, stalking silently through the withered grass with graceful, long strides. She covered the entire camp within a minuscule amount of time despite her size, slipping into the underbrush with a swift lash of her tail that signaled for the elder to come along.

Leaftail followed closely behind her, eyes heavy as he struggled to keep up with the young female. Asterstar was able to easily pad through any small opening within the thick shrubbery, unlike the average sized tom, who stumbled around nearly blindly, thorns and brambles snagging his long fur as he pushed through the woods. He hissed through his teeth as he felt strands of his hair being ripped out harshly, yet he forced himself to move forward at a steady pace before they emerged into a small clearing with four cats: two on the ground, two standing. The old medicine cat lifted his snout as he took a big whiff of the air, and the stench of Shadowclan and disease flooded his nasal passages, nearly making him choke.

"Asterstar, you brought Leaftail? Good." A tall, calico she-cat stood stark still, pale yellow eyes baring into the fallen felines on the dirt. Her hackles stood on end, and it was obvious she was incredibly tense. She turned to the grey tom, nodding towards the couple of bodies as her tail thumped with anticipation on the terrain. "It was horrible, Leaftail. These two Shadowclan cats; they came trespassing on our territory! They were terribly sick, and even more violent than usual! Batfur here heard them, and got up to check, but they attacked him out of nowhere! Tell them what they did, Batfur." She nodded towards a dark brown tabby tom sitting beside her. He was visibly shaking.

"T-they wouldn't speak to me, Leaftail! It was all a bunch of feral growls, l-like that was all they could use to communicate! They were both f-foaming at the mouth, and one of them was nearly paralyzed in both their back legs! I have no idea how it managed t-to stumble around like that. Luckily F-Foxtrot came just in time to help me kill them, b-but.. the black one bit me." Batfur angled a paw towards his left shoulder, a nasty bite wound carved into the tender flesh that was way deeper than any normal warrior could deliver.

Leaftail's eyes widened as he listened to the young tom's stammering, at a loss for words before he turned to Asterstar, his mouth contorted, frozen in place as it tried to choke out some form of a reply. "Starclan has been warning me about this for quite some time now, Asterstar. I'm afraid it's inevitable, though. What these two cats were infected with is an ancient, ancient disease that stretches back for many moons." He bore his gaze at the ground, kneading the dirt with his paws nervously. "These two Shadowclan cats had Deathcough. Once you start showing the symptoms of it, there's…no turning back. It always kills; there's no cure, and it spreads through saliva. Warriors with Deathcough are practically shells of who they were formally, and are extremely aggressive, as these two have shown tonight. They'll bite other clanmates, infecting them with the virus as well, and that's how an outbreak starts." He looked back up to meet the gaze of a horrified Asterstar, yet her fear quickly was melted away and replaced with rage.

"You old fool! How dare you make up ailments to scare your fellow clanmates? Batfur will be just fine, will he not, Foxtrot?" The small she-cat spat, turning to her deputy for support.

"I'm not making up ailments! In all due respect, Asterstar, this disease is only a piece of knowledge that has been passed down to medicine cats! It has been kept secret for generations so it wouldn't fall into the wrong paws and cause fear! Batfur will not be okay! Do you want him to end up killing his loved ones too? Maybe even you? I forgot to mention how many lives it wipes out from a leader: all!" Leaftail shouted, bristling and legs quivering as he rounded on his commander. "I'm only trying to keep Riverclan safe."

The blue-furred molly, with fury still plastered on her expression, turned away, padding stiff-legged into the shrubs lining the Riverclan border and lashing her tail as a curt way to tell Leaftail to come over. The elderly medicine cat swallowed hard, turning back towards the two that were still alive to his side. Foxtrot looked confused, and Batfur was struggling to catch his breath, the large, patched she-cat lapping at his cheek in a desperate attempt to get him to calm down. The grey tabby tom shakily made his way into the bushes, his breath hitching as more thorn snagged his skin. "You understand now, right? You know what I must do." The old cat whispered, voice barely audible as he struggled to make eye contact with those piercing golden orbs. "I'll take Batfur back to camp, make sure he has a nice last meal, says his goodbyes, and then I'll lay him to rest in the most painless way possible. We will bury the body respectfully, and sit vigil for him just like any other warrior who has passed away. This is only for the good of Rivercl-"

"Leaftail, I think your old age has gone to your head. We are not killing a perfectly fine young warrior. I think it's time you retire to the elder's den. I am not standing for this kind of behavior. You are to return to camp and keep your big mouth shut. We do not need any more fear struck into the hearts of my clan. Starclan will not be pleased with you blaspheming."

"I'm telling the truth, Asterstar! You can't make me retire; I don't even have an apprentice yet! Riverclan won't have a medicine cat!"

"Find one, then, for Starclan's sake. You may teach them, just don't do any of the work yourself. I do not trust you. And if any of our clanmates end up dying suspiciously…" She brushed past Leaftail and flicked her tail angrily across his face, emerging halfway from the vegetation and unsheathing her claws to dig into the terrain. "I'll know where to look."


End file.
